Chronicles of the Mad Demon - Chapter 228

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 228. Preparation and Meeting (3)
Whoosh!
The trajectory traced by the sword descending in a straight line was flawless.
Profundity always conceals itself within simplicity.
Moyong Su Hyang finally grasped this principle. Though I had yet to touch even the hem of a profundity that would astound all under heaven, I could now clearly sense what it meant to possess a profundity that defied explanation.
‘So this is it.’
Goosebumps rose across my skin.
‘Within such a simple trajectory, countless paths branch and extend. Form exists, yet because paths can extend in any direction, it possesses freedom.’
It was an intense realization.
Only now, after repeating the same movement thousands—no, tens of thousands of times—could I glimpse fragments of the “true Martial Arts” my Elder Brother had spoken of.
‘You don’t need to understand it now. If you spend each day in fullness, you’ll naturally come to comprehend it. But if I had to put it into words… how should I say it? Within a simple movement, you see hundreds, thousands of paths.’
‘What does that even mean?’
‘You can only feel this yourself. Words cannot explain it.’
‘Really now.’
‘Remember just one thing. Martial Arts are like human relationships. Familiarity can lead to mistakes, but the mistakes you make exist because there was a process of becoming familiar. That process never disappears.’
‘….’
‘The moment you recognize a mistake, the relationship transforms. When you contemplate how you should act to build a better relationship with this person, countless unique responses and adaptations for them come to mind.’
Moyong Su Hyang let out an exclamation without realizing it.
‘Now the relationship with the Flame Dragon Saber has truly changed.’
Martial Forms are ultimately postures and stances.
Martial Forms are movements that embody meaning—if the opponent moves this way, I respond like this; if they counterattack that way, I evade—implemented through action.
But the opponent is not me, and they won’t move as I wish. If I only practice the same movements, I’ll need to respond differently against each different opponent, so merely memorizing forms becomes meaningless.
Yet the reason for cultivating Martial Forms is the various response methods contained within them.
The number of movements that can derive from a single action is countless. Even a simple downward strike can produce entirely different results through subtle changes in angle, speed, and posture.
‘Martial Forms are ultimately the skeleton of that Martial Art. Adding flesh to that skeleton is my responsibility.’
To add flesh, I must experience the countless possibilities contained within the forms, and to manifest those many sword techniques through my body, I need extremely refined senses and physical strength.
‘So that’s why.’
My Elder Brother had said it: there exists no fixed training method suitable for everyone.
Some need suffering, others need physical conditioning. Some need simple training, others need complex training.
In other words, the training I need differs at every moment.
‘That’s why my Elder Brother told me to train my body moderately and contemplate Martial Arts. That’s what I needed then.’
Moyong Su Hyang murmured without thinking.
“The form of training is always changing.”
That was when it happened.
“You’ve already realized that?”
“Oh!”
Startled, I turned my head to find Neung Hyeong with his usual sullen expression.
“When did you arrive?”
“I’ve been here for a while. I even spoke to you, but you didn’t hear me.”
“…Hehe.”
“Don’t laugh at me like that just because you’re embarrassed.”
“Hmph.”
Moyong Su Hyang sheathed her sword and grumbled.
“It’s rude to peek at someone else’s training.”
It was a joke thrown out in embarrassment, but Neung Hyeong took it seriously.
“You may be someone else, but I have a duty to oversee your training.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your cunning Elder Sister appointed me as the Instructor of the Moyong Family.”
“Ah!”
“What? Did you already know?”
“My brother and I don’t keep secrets from each other.”
Moyong Su Hyang grinned widely.
“So, have you mastered all the Martial Arts of the Main Family House?”
“No matter how extraordinary I am, how could I master all those Super First-Rate Martial Arts in a single day?”
“Hehe.”
“Still, I grasped the general framework.”
“Isn’t that remarkable enough?”
“You’ll be even more amazed when you understand what kind of framework I’m talking about.”
Neung Hyeong walked over naturally and drew the sword tucked at Moyong Su Hyang’s waist.
It was so natural that Moyong Su Hyang couldn’t stop him. Of course, she had no reason to anyway.
Neung Hyeong examined the long blade, tilting his head slightly.
“The Soul-Burning Flame Dragon Sword is what you’ve learned?”
“That’s right.”
“You’re preparing the True Dragon Dual Origin Technique based on Twin Dragon Energy?”
Does he really know everything?
Moyong Su Hyang was inwardly shocked, but she nodded calmly.
“I was told to move past it before, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
“Your Elder Brother told you to learn it, and yet you haven’t because you couldn’t bring yourself to?”
“He didn’t exactly tell me to learn it—more like he said I could if I wanted to… but yes, that’s about it.”
“Hmm.”
Neung Hyeong stroked his chin.
‘Truly a cautious one.’
Even with a legendary master telling her she could learn it, she still hasn’t laid a hand on it.
It didn’t seem to be from anxiety. Judging by Moyong Su Hyang’s personality from what he’d observed, and just looking at her eyes, she was someone thirsting for strength.
‘Quite the clever one.’
Moyong Bi had said that Moyong Su Jeong possessed exceptional sensory perception, but simultaneously had well-balanced talent in other areas.
In contrast, Moyong Su Hyang hadn’t been born with a brilliant mind, but possessed extraordinary physical talent.
Physical talent was intimately connected to sensory perception. Yet the two sisters’ senses differed slightly.
If one had to distinguish, Moyong Su Jeong excelled at sensing the essence through Qi, while Moyong Su Hyang possessed an instinctive sense honed by extraordinarily acute nerves.
As the saying goes, all streams return to the source—ultimately, their talents were no different, but for now they could and should be distinguished.
“Now I understand why he told you to master the True Dragon Dual Origin Technique.”
“…?”
“But I also understand why you haven’t learned it.”
“What?”
Neung Hyeong took a serious stance.
“Watch carefully.”
Flash!
His sword cleaved through the empty air.
Moyong Su Hyang’s eyes widened.
‘A Vertical Strike!’
The foundational form of the Flame Dragon Sword.
A downward slash from above—what the Jianghu commonly called the Tai Shan Pressure technique.
Of course, even with identical movements, the aura, the circulation of Qi, the rhythm of breathing, and the distribution of force could produce entirely different results.
‘It’s completely different from mine!’
It transcended perfection.
The Vertical Strike executed by Neung Hyeong was something beyond perfection itself.
Perfection cannot exceed itself by definition, yet Moyong Su Hyang felt exactly that.
“What do you think?”
“Wow, it’s incredible?”
Neung Hyeong’s eyes gleamed.
“In what way?”
“A typical Tai Shan Pressure stamps down and cuts, but the Flame Dragon Sword’s Vertical Strike appears to stamp down while actually pulling and cutting. That subtle difference in movement and breathing is what distinguishes it from an ordinary Tai Shan Pressure….”
Moyong Su Hyang had become so absorbed that her expression grew distant.
“What was it exactly? Sometimes it seemed like pure force stamping down, sometimes like a gentle cut from the beginning… it felt like two opposing qualities coexisting.”
Neung Hyeong had no choice but to acknowledge it.
‘Heaven is unfair.’
Even with blood-soaked effort, it was difficult for a seventeen-year-old young punk to instantly perceive the sword’s characteristics embedded in a single technique.
‘True to that bloodline.’
Neung Hyeong casually swung his sword.
Remarkably, the long blade naturally slid into the scabbard hanging from Moyong Su Hyang’s belt—a hand movement so fluid that observers would have called it sorcery.
“You’ve opened your eyes to the versatility of forms. But versatility is singularity. If the same movement carries different force and subtlety, then it can be called a different form.”
“…!”
“Reading this single strike means your body already understands what your mind cannot grasp. That’s why your hands haven’t reached for the True Dragon Dual Origin Technique. You can glimpse this realm with only the Twin Dragon Energy as your foundation.”
“Is, is that so?”
“If you advance to True Dragon, you could achieve enlightenment through incantation and dharma gate interpretation alone. But your body—more precisely, your stubbornness and curiosity—rejected it. Because it’s an enlightenment you can already capture with Twin Dragon Energy.”
Moyong Su Hyang gasped involuntarily.
‘So that’s why Elder Brother told me to interpret the incantations and dharma gates of the True Dragon Dual Origin Technique well!’
Neung Hyeong folded his arms and continued.
“He showed you the path to grow faster and more solidly. There’s no reason to waste time in this realm. Your training has been sufficient, and your suffering equally so.”
“…I see.”
“Still, that man said nothing about you not having mastered the True Dragon Dual Origin Technique. Do you know why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Martial Arts is the art of the body. No matter how much someone beside you discusses logic, if I fail to grasp the soul of that art, it’s all meaningless. That’s why he presented the True Dragon Dual Origin Technique but didn’t force you to learn it.”
“…!!”
“Of course, that was because he believed in your talent and effort. He doesn’t speak that way to just anyone.”
Moyong Su Hyang felt something welling up inside her.
Hearing the affection and trust her Elder Brother hadn’t directly expressed, spoken through another’s mouth, doubled the emotion and gratitude she felt.
Neung Hyeong shook his head.
“But I don’t teach that way.”
“Sir?”
“Someone as remarkably intelligent and perceptive as your Elder Sister—tell them one thing and they’ll understand ten. Conversely, those Fire Sword Group fools need to be beaten until the knowledge is hammered into their bodies. I know how to teach both types.”
“…?”
“You’re different. You’ve already found your own path. You could call it stubbornness, but there’s a difference between meaningless obstinacy and the stubbornness of someone who knows themselves well.”
Neung Hyeong turned away.
“You go with Moyong Bi to the Martial Alliance. There’s nothing more for you to learn here.”
“To the Martial Alliance?”
“Go and learn how your Elder Brother navigates this chaotic world. Directly experience what kind of world the Masters there inhabit. That will be your fastest path to growth.”
With those words, Neung Hyeong vanished.
Moyong Su Hyang stood rooted to that spot for a long while.
* * *
Time passed quickly.
“Are you prepared?”
Moyong Bi, who had been observing the household bustling with moving preparations, nodded.
“Everything is ready.”
Jung Hui bowed respectfully.
“Shall we depart soon?”
“Let’s do so.”
Moyong Bi looked toward Jin Gwang.
Jin Gwang stared into the distance with a complicated expression. Even as the moving preparations continued in full swing, the shouts of the Squad Members echoed out.
They were following Neung Hyeong’s teaching to waste not a single moment.
“Are you anxious?”
“Sir? No, not at all.”
“I told that Instructor to teach you properly. You’ll learn well at the Martial Alliance this time.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
Moyong Bi smiled as he looked at Moyong Su Hyang.
“Did you say goodbye to your Elder Sister?”
“Of course.”
There was no grand farewell. Moyong Su Jeong, Seok Woong, Guo Lao, and Dark Shadow did not come to the Main Gate.
A parting as if merely stepping out for an errand, a farewell made with absolute certainty of return.
Moyong Bi turned away.
“Come, let us set the stage.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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